Legal Basis

The work of the German Accreditation Council is based on a series of contracts, Laws and Regulations. The organization and working methods of the bodies of the Accreditation Council are regulated by Statutes; the Internal Rules of Procedure of the Accreditation Council and the Foundation Council contain detailed regulations.

Interstate study accreditation treaty

On 8 December 2016, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) agreed on the “State Treaty on the Organization of a Joint Accreditation System for Quality Assurance in Studies and Teaching at German Higher Education Institutions (Interstate Study Accreditation Treaty)“, which was signed by all 16 Minister Presidents, ratified by all state parliaments and entered into force on 1 January 2018. The interstate study accreditation treaty sets out the binding objectives of accreditation as well as the tasks, responsibilities and powers of the central stakeholders. It also specifies the criteria for accreditation and regulates the cornerstones of the accreditation procedure.

Accreditation Council Act

The “Law on the German Accreditation Council (Accreditation Council Law)“, together with the interstate study accreditation treaty, forms the legal framework of the accreditation system. It contains regulations on the tasks, responsibilities and powers of the central actors which correspond to those in the interstate study accreditation treaty.

Specimen decree (MRVO)

The specimen decree (MRVO) contains the accreditation criteria and rules of procedure. On December 7, 2017, the KMK adopted the MRVO for the interstate study accreditation treaty, which sets out the essential operational rules for accreditation.

Further information:

The MRVO was amended on 21.11.2024. You can find the previous version here

The current version with change markings is available here

Questions on transitional arrangements are answered in FAQ 14.2.1 – 14.2.7

State decrees

Only the state ordinances on accreditation issued in all federal states on the basis of the RMVO are legally binding. These largely correspond to the MRVO. This means that the standards for the formal and academic criteria as well as the accreditation procedures for external quality assurance are almost identical in the Federal States.

Fee regulations

The Fee regulations of the Accreditation Council Foundation provides for an annual basic fee (basic flat rate) for higher education institutions, graduated according to the size of the higher education institution, and a procedure-related fee (flat rate per case) for each accreditation decision.

Further information:

The schedule of fees is published in the NRW Ministerial Gazette. Further information on the subject of fees and their collection can be found in FAQ 11.The fee regulations in the version valid until 31.12.2025 is available here.

Overview of the state ordinances:

Further documents can be found under Laws and Regulations and under Publications

Old legal basis (Archive)

You can find our legal archive at: https://archiv.akkreditierungsrat.de/

Contact persons:

Katrin Mayer-Lantermann

Head of International Affairs / Law

Phone: +49 (0) 228 - 338 306 30

E-mail: lantermann@akkreditierungsrat.de

Andreas Braun

International Affairs Office / Law, Programme Accreditation Officer, Data Protection Officer

Phone: +49 (0) 228 - 338 306 26

E-mail: braun@akkreditierungsrat.de

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